Lawrence of Arabia (1962) Potter: Well, what's the trick, then? Lawrence: The trick, William Potter, is not minding that it hurts. Mr. Dryden (Claude Rains) of the Arab Bureau proposes to General Murray (Donald Wolfit) that the scholarly (educated at Oxfordshire), dedicated, knowledgeable (about Arabian affairs) but undisciplined Lawrence be assigned to special duty with a transfer to Arabia. "He's of no use here in Cairo. He might be in Arabia. He knows his stuff." Murray contemptuously notes the "insubordinate," unmanly manner of Lawrence's nature - a subtle hint of his fabled homosexuality. The mission to Arabia may "make a man" of Lawrence, hardening him into a courageous, heroic leader: Murray: I can't make out whether you're bloody bad-mannered or just half-witted. Lawrence: I have the same problem sir. Murray: ...You're the kind of creature I can't stand, Lawrence. But I suppose I could be wrong. All right, Dryden. You can have him for six weeks. Who knows? Might even make a man of him.

With subtle persuasion, Dryden negotiates for a longer stay of three months. Lawrence is enthusiastic about his arduous mission to Arabia: "Of course I'm the man for the job," he tells Dryden. But then: "What is the job, by the way?" Lawrence's dangerous mission is to "find Prince Feisal" (Alec Guinness), try to acquire Feisal's support, and serve as an emissary/liasion between the British and the Arabs. In Dryden's office, decorated with artifacts including an alabaster Egyptian cat statue and a painting of a golden sunrise, Dryden explains Lawrence's task. He is to investigate the progress of the Arab Revolt against Constantinople (Turkey) and to appraise the strength of the fragmented Arab tribes for the British Political Bureau, at Prince Feisal's encampment. [The primary goal of the British was to keep the Turks - allied with the Germans in WWI - from gaining control of the Suez Canal.]: Dryden: Find out what kind of man he is [Prince Feisal]. And find out what his intentions are. I don't mean his immediate intentions. That's Colonel Brighton's business, not yours.

I mean, his intentions in Arabia all together... Lawrence: Where are they now? Dryden: Anywhere within three hundred miles of Medina. They are Hashimite Bedouins. They can cross sixty miles of desert in a day. Lawrence: Oh thanks, Dryden. This is going to be fun. Dryden: Lawrence. Only two kinds of creatures get fun in the desert. Bedouins and gods, and you are neither. Take it from me. For ordinary men, it's a burning, fiery furnace. Lawrence (as he lights Dryden's cigar with a match): No, Dryden. It's going to be fun. Dryden: It is recognized that you have a funny sense of fun. This time, after having received permission to go into Arabia, Lawrence exhibitionistically extinguishes the match by blowing it out rather than painfully snuffing it between his fingers. The next tangerine-colored scene - a long-shot view of the burning hot Arabian desert at sunrise - is juxtaposed to the previous scene by an abrupt cut, presenting the idea that Lawrence's pleasurable masochism will now be displaced into the heated political/military situation in Arabia.

That "burning, fiery furnace" of the desert will now be a far bigger challenge to control and master than the flame of a match. Accompanied by the film's majestically sweeping score, the next scene begins with an endless horizon above which the golden desert sun slowly rises, first seen as a growing sliver of bright light. On camelback for many days, Lawrence is led across sweeping desert sand dunes by a nomadic Bedouin guide Tafas (Zia Mohyeddin). He slowly learns Bedouin ways and how to swiftly ride on his camel. During his camel-riding lesson, he is taught how to spur his camel forward. Lawrence impulsively makes the camel run fast, and is promptly thrown from the camel. (This is a reference to his addiction to speed in the prologue, and just like the motorcycle, he is thrown off -- a deadly premonition of his own death.) His golden hair and tan clothing blending into the natural sand-colored surroundings.

At night under a sparkling, star-studded sky, he assures Tafas that although he is from England, he is unique and not fat like most English-speaking people: "I am different." En route at a Harith well at Masruh (belonging to a rival Bedouin tribe), Tafas draws up water at the start of one of the longest, most memorable screen entrances in film history. A dust cloud and then a tiny speck appear through shimmering, mirage-like heat waves on the desert horizon - Lawrence fears it is "Turks." The ominous image, more mirage than real, steadily enlarges and grows into a human being as it comes closer and closer. Tafas, Lawrence's escort, is shot down in cold-blood by the black-robed Bedouin for drinking at the well owned by a rival tribe.

Through this ugly, ferocious act of ancient Bedouin tribal warfare, a fearless Lawrence is introduced to Sheik Sherif Ali Ibn el Kharish (Omar Sharif) - (uncharacteristic for an eminently cultured man who was educated in Cairo and appears polite and graceful throughout) [Note: Lawrence develop bloodlusts as the film progresses, while Sherif Ali becomes more pacifistic]: Sherif: He is dead. Lawrence: He was my friend. Sherif: That! Lawrence: Yes. That. Sherif: ...You are angry, English. He was nothing. The well is everything. The Hasimi may not drink at our wells. He knew that. Sa'lam. Lawrence: Sherif Ali, so long as the Arabs fight tribe against tribe, so long will they be a little people, a silly people, greedy, barbarous, and cruel, as you are. Sherif: Come, I will take you to Feisal. Lawrence: I do not want your company, Sherif. Sherif: Wadi Safra is another day from here. You will not find it. And not finding it, you will die. Lawrence: I will find it, with this.

(He holds up his compass which Sherif snags with his camel stick.) Sherif: Good Army compass. How if I take it? Lawrence: Then you would be a thief. Sherif: Have you no fear, English? Lawrence: My fear is my concern. Sherif: Truly. God be with you, English. Lawrence rides off alone, singing before a rock surface and humorously listening for the echo [the compass is returned]: ...You could hear the girls declare. He must be a millionaire. You can rumpty-tumpty-tumpty-tum. Te-tuttle-e-tum-te-tum-te-tum. I'm the man who broke the bank at Monte Carlo. On a rock ledge above him, Lawrence receives echoing applause for his song from British Colonel Harry Brighton (Anthony Quayle), who has been notified by Prince Feisal that he was expected. According to Lawrence, his mission is to "appreciate the situation." Colonel Brighton, Lawrence's ranking officer in the desert, briefs him about the disarray among the demoralized Arab tribes: Lawrence: I have been seconded to the Arab Bureau. Brighton: Oh. What are you to do for the Arab Bureau?

Lawrence: It's rather vague sir. I'm to 'appreciate' the situation. Brighton: Well, that won't be difficult. The situation's bloody awful. The morale, if anybody had any, which I doubt, the Turks knocked out of them in front of Medina with howitzers. They're fading away by dozens every night. What I want to say to you is this, that whatever you are, and whoever you're with, you're a British-serving officer and here's an order. When we get into that camp, you're to keep your mouth shut. Do you understand what I'm saying? Feisel's camp is under attack from the Turks. They are interrupted by the sounds of explosions and Turkish bi-planes flying overhead in an air-raid bombing attack on the camp. Obviously indifferent to the needs of the Arabs, Brighton explains why the primitive Arabs are so vulnerable and how they ignored his suggestion to move south: They simply will not understand what modern weapons do. Out of the billowing black smoke, Lawrence appears almost as an answer to the Prince's prayers.

Demoralized and feeling defeated, Feisal realizes his sword, and other long-standing, archaic Arab methods of warfare, are powerless against the modern weaponry from the air. You understand, Lieutenant Lawrence, my people are unused to explosives and machines. First the guns and now this. The thousands of Bedouins are amassed and moved further south for protection. In a technically-accomplished scene in Feisal's tent, Sherif Ali appears (viewed first from the waist down), where Lawrence and British Colonel Brighton discuss with the wise and prophet-like Prince Feisal how the British may help absorb the Arabs into the British campaign. The primary objective of the British, however, is to protect their interests at the Suez Canal, and not to divert their attention toward assisting in the defense of the Arabs and defeating the Turks at Aqaba: Brighton: I want a decision, sir. Feisal: You want me to fall back on the Yenbo. Brighton: Well, you're not doing much good here, sir. I'm sorry to rub it in, sir, but we can't supply you here. Feisal: You could supply us through Aqaba. Brighton: Aqaba?

(laughs) Well, if you can get a hold of Aqaba sir, of course we can supply you. But you can't. Feisal: You could. Brighton: You mean the Navy? The Turks have 12 inch guns at Aqaba, sir. Can you imagine what that means? Feisal: Yes, I can imagine. Brighton: Put that out of your mind, sir. The Navy's got other things to do. Feisal (perceptively): Oh yes. Protecting the Suez Canal. Brighton: The one essential sector of this front is and must be the Canal. You can see that, sir, surely. Feisal: I see that the Canal is an essential British interest. It is of little consequence to us. Brighton: I must ask you not to speak like that, sir. British and Arab interests are one and the same. Feisal: Possibly. Sherif: Ha! Ha!

Brighton believes the Arab guerrilla tribes should retreat to Yenbo because they need discipline, training by European officers (and ultimately absorption into the regular British forces), and equipment: "a modern rifle for every man." Instead, Feisel demands "guns like the Turkish guns at Medina." Brighton insists that the English must first teach the Bedouin to "fight a modern, mechanized army." Although silenced by his military superior for being a disloyal "traitor," young Lawrence is sympathetic with Feisal's views and will not remain quiet. He is allowed to speak his personal opinions in "Feisal's tent," expressing a "passionate" appreciation of the vastness of the desert and the independent fighting spirit of the Arab tribes: Lawrence: I think your book is right. The desert is an ocean in which no oar is dipped. And on this ocean, the Bedouin go where they please and strike where they please. This is the way the Bedouin has always fought. You are famed throughout the world for fighting in this way and this is the way you should fight now. Brighton: I don't know. Lawrence: I'm sorry sir, but you're wrong.

Fall back on Yenbo, sir, and the Arab uprising becomes one poor unit in the British army. Lawrence remains with the soft-spoken Feisal after Brighton and Sherif Ali leave the tent, and as they speak about the Arab destiny in the face of Western warfare, the masts of the tent creak as the wind blows. All too well, Prince Feisal understands the imperialistic English hunger for Arab lands. "Desert-loving" Lawrence has his own personal hungers for "desolate places": Feisal: Colonel Brighton means to put my men under European officers, does he not? Lawrence: In effect my lord, yes. Feisal: And I must do it because the Turks have European guns. But I fear to do it. Upon my soul I do. The English have a great hunger for desolate places. I fear they hunger for Arabia. Lawrence: Then you must deny it to them. Feisal: You are an Englishman. Are you not loyal to England? Lawrence: To England, and to other things. Feisal: To England and Arabia both? And is that possible?

(He walks right up close and looks into Lawrence's eyes.) I think you are another of these desert-loving English...No Arab loves the desert. We love water and green trees, there is nothing in the desert. No man needs nothing. Or is it that you think we are something you can play with because we are a little people? A silly people, greedy, barbarous, and cruel? What do you know, Lieutenant. In the Arab city of Cordova, there were two miles of public lighting in the streets when London was a village... Lawrence: Yes, you were great. Feisal: ..nine centuries ago... Lawrence: Time to be great again, my Lord. Feisal: ...which is why my father made this war upon the Turks. My father, Mr. Lawrence, not the English. Now my father is old. And I, I long for the vanished gardens of Cordova. However, before the gardens must come fighting. To be great again, it seems that we need the English or... Lawrence: ...or?... Feisal: ...what no man can provide, Mr. Lawrence. We need a miracle!

The camera follows Lawrence's footprints on the ripples of the blowing desert dunes. As he wanders through the night and into the morning light, he contemplates whether he will be the messianic, god-like, miraculous savior of the Arabs. He announces his decision to capture the Turkish garrison at the port of Aqaba: Aqaba. Aqaba, from the land. Super Reviewer ½ A splendorous epic restored to near perfection, running now for almost four hours of magnificent visuals and fantastic dialogue, and it offers us both O'Toole and Sharif in superb performances - especially the former as a complex, contradictory man in a journey from eccentric soldier to mad exhibitionist. Carlos Magalhães Super Reviewer ½ During production,no one knew that this would be a bold or mad act of genius it would be to make Lawrence of Arabia,or even think that it could be made.

In the words years later of one of it's stars,Omar Sharif: "If you are the man with the money and somebody comes to you and says he wants to make a film that's four hours long,with no stars,and no women,and no love story,and not much action either,and he wants to spend a huge amount of money to go film it in the desert-what would you say?" The impulse to make this movie was based,above all,on imagination. The story of Lawrence is not founded on violent battle scenes or cheap melodrama but on David Lean's ability to imagine what it would look like to see a spec appear on the horizon of the desert and slowly grow into a human being. There are severa moments in the film when the hero,the British eccentric soldier and author T.E. Lawrence has survived a suicidal trek across the desert and is within reach of shelter and water-and he turns around and goes back,to find a friend who has fallen behind. This sequence builds up to the shot in which the shimmering heat of the desert reluctantly yields the speck that becomes a man-a shot that is held for a long time.

That is just the first of several scenes that stand out which includes the spectacular battle sequences and in the moment where Peter O'Toole's character does a victory dance on top of a Turkish train. For a movie that runs 216 minutes,plus intermission is one of cinema's great masterpieces and for it's 50th Anniversary it still stands throughout the test of time(originally the running time stands at 227 minutes which was the roadshow version complete with full entrance overture and intermission and exit music). When it came out in 1962,it became the highest grossing film in the history of Columbia Pictures,not to mentioning becoming the highest grossing picture that year. Nominated for an impressive 12 Oscars,it was victorious in winning 7 including the Best Picture of 1962. Lawrence of Arabia might have been lost forever if it hadn't been for the film's restorers Robert A.

Harris and Jim Painten They discovered the original negative in Columbia's vaults,inside crushed,and rusting film cans,and also was missing about thirty-five minutes of footage that had been trimmed by distributors final Lean's final cut(when in the 1971 re-release was completely butchered). They painstakenly put it together again,sometimes by one crumbling frame at a time. But to see this in a movie theater is to basically appreciate the subtlety of Freddie Young's Oscar winning cinematography. Lawrence of Arabia was one of the last films to be actually photographed in 70mm(Super Panavision 70),and to see this in it's restored Technicolor format after it's glorious re-release in 1989 and to experienced this in full 6-channel Dobly Stereo Sound is something every filmgoer can appreciate. Lawrence of Arabia made Peter O'Toole an international icon and a major bonafide star along with Omar Sharif(who would go on to star in another David Lean epic "Doctor Zhivago" three years later).

The cast itself is astounding ranging from Alec Guinness,Anthony Quinn,Claude Rains,Arthur Kennedy,Jack Hawkins,Anthony Quayle and Jose Ferrer. Please avoid the cable TV versions and it is worth seeing in a huge movie theater with 70mm projection. Mister Caple Super Reviewer An indisputable classic concerning an unruly British soldier (Peter O'Toole) tasked by the army to provide assistance to the Arabs in their battle against the Turks. This sweeping, nearly four-hour epic is definitely a long watch, but a rewarding one if you have the patience to see the complete arc of a fascinating, arresting character. O'Toole is the perfect man of the part, as he fully captures the emotions of a character in a "fish out of water" scenario. Aided by a strong supporting cast and a story that expertly captures the politics of the days of the WWI, this is a bonafide masterpiece. Sure, it is definitely overlong, but it is better that way, as it feels in some ways viewing the movie as a journey itself, which in turn feels fitting. Dan Schultz Lawrence of Arabia (Film) - TV Tropes Lawrence of Arabia You need to login to do this.

Get Known if you don't have an account Share Jackson Bentley: What is it, Major Lawrence, that attracts you personally to the desert? T.E. Lawrence: It's clean. Lawrence of Arabia is a historical epic film directed by David Lean , about British officer T.E. Lawrence's activities leading the Arab revolt against the Turks during World War I . Producer Sam Spiegel bought the rights to Lawrence's own 1922 account of his experiences in the Middle East, The Seven Pillars of Wisdom, for Lean (who had previously helmed the Spiegel-produced The Bridge on the River Kwai to great success) to direct. Lawrence took two years to make, in locations like Jordan, Morocco and Spain. When finally released in 1962, it won a ton of awards including the Academy Award for Best Picture, and remains highly-regarded by most critics decades later. The movie is intelligently written and well-acted, although some critics have issues with the historical accuracy. On a visual note, it contains some absolutely beautiful desert scenery, and Peter O'Toole is terribly pretty in the title role.

The film was twice subjected to major cuts , being reduced from an initial 222 minute length to as short as 187 minutes by the early '70s. Much of the missing footage was misplaced by Columbia Pictures until the 1989 restoration (216 minutes). David Lean approved of the first round of cuts, but later blamed them on Sam Spiegel. In 2012, the film was re-released in limited quantities both to celebrate its 50th anniversary and to show off a new screen technology known as Ultra-High Definition resolution. Famously one of the all-time favorite films of Steven Spielberg —he counts the legendary Match Cut as being one of the seminal inspirations for him taking up filmmaking as a career. He eagerly spearheaded a restoration of the film for DVD, with the assistance of Martin Scorsese . Contains examples of: Advertised Extra : Original posters, trailers and TV spots highlighted (among others in the Ensemble Cast ) Oscar-winner Jose Ferrer playing the Turkish Bey. This even though Ferrer had about four minutes of total screen time (though admittedly a very memorable scene ). Affably Evil : Dryden.

Charming, soft-spoken and cultured, while cheerfully manipulating everyone around him . The Alliance : And collecting the various Feuding Families to form this is a large part of the movie. Ambiguously Gay : Lawrence. In real life, his relations with his male "companions" were (and are) considered very suspect. Real life speculation about Lawrence's sexuality seems to oscillate between two extremes: he was either entirely asexual , or a masochistic gay man. The Girly Skirt Twirl (see below) isn't very subtle. Then there's Ali talking about his feelings. "If I fear him, who love him, how must he fear himself who hates himself?" David Lean confirmed this: "Yes. Of course it is. Throughout. Lawrence was very, if not entirely, homosexual. We thought we were being very daring at the time: Lawrence and Omar, Lawrence and the Arab boys." Daud and Farraj have an almost romantic devotion to each other. This part of their characterization could have been drawn from T.E. Lawrence's Seven Pillars of Wisdom, in which they were described as a same-sex couple. Answer Cut : "I wonder where they are now?" Cut to aftermath of Turkish massacre.

Anti-Villain : Allenby's somewhere between this and Punch Clock Villain . He's clearly uncomfortable with some of the actions he's forced to take, assuaging his conscience with protests that he's Just Following Orders . Though in fairness, as a general he's not in much position to protest. Lampshaded late in the film: Dryden: Do you think it was worth it? Allenby: Not my business. Thank God I'm a soldier. Dryden: Yes, sir. So you keep saying. Armchair Military : Played with by British command promoting and supplying Lawrence once his tactics prove effective. Badass Boast : Auda abu Tayi gets a doozy. "I carry twenty-three great wounds all got in battle. Seventy-five I have killed with my own hands in battle. I scatter, I burn my enemy's tents. I take away their flocks and herds. The Turks pay me a golden treasure, yet *I* am poor. Because I am a river to my people!" Badass Bookworm : Lawrence, whose knowledge of the area makes him more effective at his job than his comrades.

"'I cannot fiddle, but I can make a great state from a little city.' - Thermistocles" Battle Butler : Farraj and Daud, Lawrence's two servants Bittersweet Ending / Downer Ending : Even though Lawrence succeeded in reaching and taking Damascus with his Arab calvary, Lawrence is unsuccessful in uniting the Arab tribes as a united people, and heads home, depressed and unable to feel joy again. Oh, and he dies years later in a motorcycle crash (as shown in the beginning). When Lawrence is leaving at night, taking 50 men with him to conquer Aqaba: Faisal: And where are you going, lieutenant, with 50 of my men? Lawrence: To work your miracle. Faisal: Blasphemy is a bad beginning for such a journey. After taking Aqaba, Lawrence is confident that he can cross the Sinai desert safely and inform his superiors about the siege. He compares himself to Moses, which offends Auda. Auda: In ten days you will cross Sinai? Lawrence: Why not? Moses did. Auda: Moses was a prophet and beloved of God!

Blood Knight : Lawrence's expressed aversion to violence is in fact an effort to suppress this part of his personality. At a meeting with Allenby Lawrence tells about having to execute a murderer in his army. Allenby expresses sympathy, but Lawrence explains the real problem. "I enjoyed it." Break the Cutie : The movie is one long string of personal tragedies for Lawrence, as he watches his friends die and does various things that he does not enjoy. And more tragically still, things he wishes he didn't enjoy. Brick Joke : "You, sir! I'd like to shake your hand!" Which he remembers proudly while criticising Bentley for describing Lawrence as "the biggest showoff since Barnum and Bailey" as they both leave his funeral at the beginning of the film... unaware that the same man he was so proud to have met was the one he slapped across the face while yelling a racial epithet after discovering him upon arrival at a filthy, underequipped hospital. Brownface : Alec Guiness, an English actor, plays Prince Feisal, an Arab. The Chessmaster : Faisal and Allenby. Chromosome Casting : All of the named characters are men. In fact, there aren't any female speaking parts.

Comforting Comforter : Sherif Ali tucks Lawrence in on a couple of occasions. Composite Character : Sherif Ali (Ali ibn el-Kharish) was clearly based on Ali ibn el Hussein, the brother of Faisal, but was stripped of his royal identity and made a generic tribal leader. Many of the British officers are also composite characters, as well as Dryden. Conflicting Loyalty : Lawrence is caught between loyalty to his country and the Arab Revolt. In fact he talked much of this in Real Life , though when you think of it, it is inevitable in any officer seconded to an allied force. But in any case it is considerably dramatized here. Cool Horse : Auda Abu Tayi's favorite part of the Plunder , when they seize a Turkish train and he comes away with a handsome white horse. Creator Cameo : David Lean voices the motorcyclist who asks Lawrence "Who are you?" at the Suez Canal. Robert Bolt plays one of the officers (smoking a pipe) watching Lawrence's first conference with Allenby. Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass : Lawrence is viewed to be eccentric and insubordinate in Cairo, so much that the commanding general openly treats him with contempt.

All that changes when he gets to Arabia. Dead Hat Shot : The goggles hanging from the bush early on, signifying Lawrence's death in the motorcycle accident. Dated History : Besides the Hollywood History below, the depiction of Lawrence as a sadist who enjoys killing can be traced to several critical Lawrence biographies (by Richard Aldington and Anthony Nutting) written shortly before the movie's release, something which most modern historians discount. Not coincidentally, Nutting served as an advisor to the filmmakers. On the other hand, showing him as a masochist who liked receiving pain has become widely accepted . Despair Event Horizon : Lawrence crosses it following Daraa, becoming more broken and bitter. Dramatization : It's based on history, but they took some liberties for dramatic effect. Epic Movie : One of the most famous examples, though in many ways it's also a Deconstruction , in that the film proves that one person, no matter how remarkable or adventurous cannot truly be bigger than his surroundings, time and place.

The opening scene which shows many of Lawrence's friends and associates discussing him second hand and without feeling implies that the actions which seemed so significant to Lawrence and newspaper readers at the time had by 1936 become yesterday's news in the context of England and the world . Everything's Louder with Bagpipes : Bagpipes are played when the English army moves towards Damascus. A Father to His Men : Lawrence impresses the men under his command when he makes a dangerous trek back into the desert to save a straggler. Feuding Families : Major source of problems amongst Arab tribes throughout the film. Large Ham : Lawrence was Peter O'Toole's first starring role, and he'd mostly done stage work up until then. As a result, his performance was a little...outsized. Subverted by the fact that Lawrence, as portrayed in the film, pretty much exemplified this trope as well. Of course, the stage doesn't get any bigger than a vast desert. Anthony Quinn is hammy as Auda. He roars around like a big child, and at one point he walks across a table to yell at someone. And Jose Ferrer shows up for a whole scene to be a big, creepy, creepy ham.

Last Breath Bullet : One soldier during the train attack fires his gun at Lawrence with his last strength. He can only wound him though before getting beheaded. Also, to a lesser extent, Lawrence and Daud/Farraj. Magnetic Hero : Lawrence. Ali and Auda both are both good examples, as well. Male Gaze : This film is a rare instance of it being exclusively directed on other men. For instance the scene where Ali walks into the tent has a long slow pan up his body from Lawrence's point of view. This is a shot normally used to indicate that the character in question is a love interest (in his essay on the film Martin Scorsese pointed out that in Film Noir the Femme Fatale is often introduced like this). Make of that what you will . Also the scene where Lawrence is stripped and beaten by the Turkish soldiers has a lot of lingering shots of half naked Peter O'Toole. Match Cut : A particularly famous (and literal) one, when Lawrence blows out a match, cutting to the sun rising over the Arabian desert. Meaningful Echo : Early in the film, Lawrence's Bedouin guide is shot by a man from another tribe (Sherif Ali), for drinking from his well.

Angry, Lawrence yells at his retreating back, "So long as the Arabs fight tribe against tribe, so long will they be a little people, a silly people; greedy, barbarous and cruel, as you are." Later in the second half of the film, Lawrence's men slaughter a unit of Turks in revenge-fueled lust (in which Lawrence himself snaps and kills at least two dozen Turks himself). Later, when Mr. Bentley arrives at the scene, stunned, Sherif Ali essentially parrots what Lawrence had said to him before: "Does it surprise you, Mr Bentley? Surely, you know the Arabs are a barbarous people. Barbarous and cruel. Who but they! Who but they!" "Nothing is written!" and several variants are repeated throughout the film. Lawrence admiring himself in the blade of his dagger, just after Ali presents him with his Arab robes. Much later, Lawrence repeats the gesture during the final massacre. No One Gets Left Behind : Lawrence going after one of his men stranded in desert. Managing to save him. Inverted possibly by being forced to execute him. Subverted in another instance.

Lawrence's servant has to be given a Mercy Kill because it is impossible not to leave him behind. No Woman's Land : It is a World War I movie, but still - no women are shown on screen, except for a handful of veiled extras here and there, and some nurses. There are no women with speaking roles. (Ululating doesn't count.) Obfuscating Stupidity : Lawrence seems to play up his eccentricity in Cairo, to the point where the other officers have no awareness of his expertise. Obstructive Bureaucrat : Allenby, who is shown scheming and plotting behind the Arabs' (and Lawrence's) backs. Some say this is Historical Villain Upgrade . Oneliner Name Oneliner : Mr. Bentley to Dryden at some point: "Walk away, Dryden, walk away." Pay Evil unto Evil : The killing of the Turkish soldiers responsible for the Tafas massacre. Plunder : The sack of Aqaba. Also the ambushed Turkish train. Pride : If Lawrence has one flaw it is his belief that he and his army are untouchable and can do anything. For a long time he is right, until he reaches Daraa.

Promotion, Not Punishment : When Lawrence returns from Aquaba, the British General points out that he acted without orders only to then promote him Major. Punctuated! For! Emphasis! : "I. Don't. Want. To be. Part. Of your. BIG. PUSH!" Quicksand Sucks : Quicksand shows up in the desert, swallowing a servant in moments. Easy to write off as Artistic License ï¿½ Geology , but its mentioned in the folklore of many desert cultures, and its recently been discovered that may be for good reason: Dry quicksand exists and behaves more like hollywood quicksand than the liquid variety.note The other wiki has an article , but basically, it seems to be caused by the normally tightly packed structure of sand being slightly looser than normal- perhaps by a drift of powder sand being blown lightly into the gap between several dune ridges. This creates a large, precariously stacked pile of sand grains and trapped air that otherwise looks like completely normal sand. Cue a caravan.

In one experiment a weighted ping pong ball sank into dry quicksand to a depth of several inches almost immediately,accompanied by a "straight jet of sand [shooting] violently into the air after about 100 milliseconds". Its also worth mentioning that the wet form of quicksand forms in deserts, too. note It takes a large, long-lived, reliable spring to form anything vaguely resembling a greenery-circled open pool- a weak or unreliable spring may simply form a small patch of quicksand when conditions are right. Rape as Drama : Lawrence and the Turkish Bey. More like a beating/"implied rape as drama", but still disturbing. Rated M for Manly : A movie about Bedouin riding around on Cool Horses in scorching deserts, killing large numbers of Turkish soldiers. Reasonable Authority Figure : Faisal, who is much more willing to play politics than the idealistic Lawrence. The Revolution Will Not Be Bureaucratized : The Arab National Council that forms after the occupation of Damascus exemplifies this trope. The tribesmen who fought alongside Lawrence have no experience with technology, urban administration, or modern politics, and soon found themselves unable to oversee a modern city.

The Revolution Will Not Be Civilized : The Arab uprising is portrayed leaving in the infighting, shallow motives and ruthless tactics. It's origins are not the heroic gathering of a single group for a great cause, but more or less a Staged Populist Uprising promoted by one colonialist empire against another colonialist empire, who manipulate sincere romantics like Lawrence to tap into Arab nationalist fervour without regard of the consequences, and without any real intention to deliver on the promises. The heroes of the Revolt end up realizing that they were being used, betrayed and discarded by the real power holders who more or less feel that they have outlived their usefulness , and that there's little room in the new order for them . In the end they part ways. Sheriff Ali to moderate political reform, Auda Abu Tayi back to the same position he held before the Revolt with not much changed in his lot, and Lawrence back to England and obscurity, feeling that he never quite fulfilled his potential. Right in Front of Me : A British officer is honoured to shake Lawrence's hand, unaware that Lawrence was the dirty wog he'd slapped earlier. Scenery Porn : Never has a desolate desert wasteland looked so beautiful.

The film is oft-cited as reason enough alone to preserve three-strip Cinerama with wrap-around 70mm movie palace screens (and, on a somewhat related note, for Letterboxing ). Tall, Dark and Handsome : Omar Sharif... most definitely. Averted in the case of Peter O'Toole as Lawrence himself, possibly the whitest mad dog or Englishman ever to venture into the desert. The tall and handsome part remains, though. Television Geography : Sinai is not a white and sandy desert as depicted in the film, but an area of red-brown rock and mountains, and was filmed elsewhere (Spain, Morocco, or California) . The Wadi Rum scenery, in contrast, was actually filmed in Wadi Rum. T.E. Lawrences' Seven Pillars of Wisdom, on which the film was loosely based, describes the diverse geography of the Sinai and Arabian deserts in detail. Thirsty Desert : The Arabian and Sinai deserts.

Thou Shalt Not Kill : Although he would do it when he had no choice, Lawrence was known for being highly averse to bloodshed ("I've never seen a man killed with a sword before." "Why don't you take a picture?" // "Prisoners, sir, we took them prisoners, the entire garrison. No, that's not true. We killed some; too many, really, I'll manage it better next time."). That is, until Daraa; he returns a "changed man", despite Sherif Ali's claims to the contrary. Thousand-Yard Stare : When Lawrence gets out of the Sun's Anvil (for the second time in a day), he's too busy blankly staring ahead like a seated corpse to notice people offering him water. And that's BEFORE the traumas start piling up. War Is Hell : Not at first, but evident throughout the second act as Lawrence's losses and personal traumas stack up. Culminating in the final battle, a pointless massacre that could easily have been avoided.

Warrior Poet : Lawrence, who is even described by a journalist who knew him, as "a poet, a scholar, and a mighty warrior" (as well as some less flattering things) in the opening. Warriors of Desert Winds : An early example, before it formally organised. We ARE Struggling Together : The tribal factions that make up Lawrence' Arab troops have deep-seated resentments. Part of Lawrence's struggle as a military commander is getting the tribes to set aside their differences in the name of a common goal. After the occupation of Damascus, the tribal resentments come to the surface again as the Arab National Council descends into childish bickering. After an argument that nearly becomes violent, Auda tells Ali that being an "Arab" (as opposed to a member of a tribe) will be harder than he ever imagined. This could have been the filmmaker's jab at the Pan-Arab movement of the 1950s and 60s. What the Hell, Hero? : Lawrence gets many, but Tafas is probably the most glaring example. Wicked Cultured : Dryden keeps classical art and Egyptian statuary in his office.

Widescreen Shot : So many, it showed Lean was a master of them. World of Snark : Lawrence, Ali, Auda, Allenby, Dryden and Bentley are all quite handy with sarcasm and droll putdowns. Ali and Auda's first meeting is an epic piece of Snark-to-Snark Combat . Worthy Opponent : The Turkish officer at the train. Lawrence of Arabia Movie Review (1962) | Roger Ebert Tweet What a bold, mad act of genius it was, to make “Lawrence of Arabia,” or even think that it could be made. In the words years later of one of its stars, Omar Sharif : “If you are the man with the money and somebody comes to you and says he wants to make a film that's four hours long, with no stars, and no women, and no love story, and not much action either, and he wants to spend a huge amount of money to go film it in the desert--what would you say?” Advertisement The impulse to make this movie was based, above all, on imagination.

The story of “Lawrence” is not founded on violent battle scenes or cheap melodrama, but on David Lean's ability to imagine what it would look like to see a speck appear on the horizon of the desert, and slowly grow into a human being. He had to know how that would feel before he could convince himself that the project had a chance of being successful. There is a moment in the film when the hero, the British eccentric soldier and author T.E. Lawrence, has survived a suicidal trek across the desert and is within reach of shelter and water--and he turns around and goes back, to find a friend who has fallen behind. This sequence builds up to the shot in which the shimmering heat of the desert reluctantly yields the speck that becomes a man--a shot that is held for a long time before we can even begin to see the tiny figure. On television, this shot doesn't work at all--nothing can be seen. In a movie theater, looking at the stark clarity of a 70mm print, we lean forward and strain to bring a detail out of the waves of heat, and for a moment we experience some of the actual vastness of the desert, and its unforgiving harshness.

By being able to imagine that sequence, Lean was able to imagine why the movie would work. “Lawrence of Arabia” is not a simple biography or an adventure movie--although it contains both elements--but a movie that uses the desert as a stage for the flamboyance of a driven, quirky man. Although it is true that Lawrence was instrumental in enlisting the desert tribes on the British side in the 1914-17 campaign against the Turks, the movie suggests that he acted less out of patriotism than out of a need to reject conventional British society, choosing to identify with the wildness and theatricality of the Arabs. There was also a sexual component, involving his masochism. Advertisement T.E. Lawrence must be the strangest hero ever to stand at the center of an epic. To play him, Lean cast one of the strangest of actors, Peter O'Toole, a lanky, almost clumsy man with a beautiful sculptured face and a speaking manner that hesitates between amusement and insolence. O'Toole's assignment was a delicate one. Although it was widely believed that Lawrence was a homosexual, a multimillion-dollar epic filmed in 1962 could not be frank about that.

And yet Lean and his writer, Robert Bolt , didn't simply cave in and rewrite Lawrence into a routine action hero. Everything is here for those willing to look for it. Using O'Toole's peculiar speech and manner as their instrument, they created a character who combined charisma and craziness, who was so different from conventional military heroes that he could inspire the Arabs to follow him in a mad march across the desert. There is a moment in the movie when O'Toole, dressed in the flowing white robes of a desert sheik, does a victory dance on top of a captured Turkish train, and he almost seems to be posing for fashion photos. This is a curious scene because it seems to flaunt gay stereotypes, and yet none of the other characters in the movie seem to notice--nor do they take much notice of the two young desert urchins that Lawrence takes under his protection. What Lean, Bolt and O'Toole create is a sexually and socially unconventional man who is simply presented as what he is, without labels or comment. Could such a man rally the splintered desert tribes and win a war against the Turks? Lawrence did.

But he did it partially with mirrors, the movie suggests; one of the key characters is an American journalist (Arthur Kennedy), obviously inspired by Lowell Thomas, who single-handedly laundered and retailed the Lawrence myth to the English-language press. The journalist admits he is looking for a hero to write about. Lawrence is happy to play the role. And only role-playing would have done the job; an ordinary military hero would have been too small for this canvas. Advertisement For a movie that runs 216 minutes, plus intermission, “Lawrence of Arabia” is not dense with plot details. It is a spare movie in clean, uncluttered lines, and there is never a moment when we're in doubt about the logistical details of the various campaigns. Law-rence is able to unite various desert factions, the movie argues, because (1) he is so obviously an outsider that he cannot even understand, let alone take sides with, the various ancient rivalries; and (2) because he is able to show the Arabs that it is in their own self-interest to join the war against the Turks.

Along the way he makes allies of such desert leaders as Sherif Ali (Omar Sharif), Prince Feisal (Alec Guinness) and Auda Abu Tayi ( Anthony Quinn ), both by winning their respect and by appealing to their logic. The dialogue in these scenes is not complex, and sometimes Bolt makes it so spare it sounds like poetry. I've noticed that when people remember “Lawrence of Arabia,” they don't talk about the details of the plot. They get a certain look in their eye, as if they are remembering the whole experience, and have never quite been able to put it into words. Although it seems to be a traditional narrative film--like “ The Bridge on the River Kwai ,” which Lean made just before it, or " Doctor Zhivago ," which he made just after--it actually has more in common with such essentially visual epics as Kubrick's " 2001: A Space Odyssey ," or Eisenstein's “Alexander Nevsky.” It is spectacle and experience, and its ideas are about things you can see or feel, not things you can say.

Much of its appeal is based on the fact that it does not contain a complex story with a lot of dialogue; we remember the quiet, empty passages, the sun rising across the desert, the intricate lines traced by the wind in the sand. Although it won the Academy Award as the year's best picture in 1962, “Lawrence of Arabia” might have been lost if it hadn't been for the film restorers Robert A. Harris and Jim Painten. They discovered the original negative in Columbia's vaults, inside crushed and rusting film cans, and also about 35 minutes of footage that had been trimmed by distributors from Lean's final cut. They put it together again, sometimes by one crumbling frame at a time (Harris sent me one of the smashed cans as a demonstration of Hollywood's carelessness with its heritage). Advertisement To see it in a movie theater is to appreciate the subtlety of F.A. (Freddie) Young's desert cinematography--achieved despite blinding heat, and the blowing sand, which worked its way into every camera.

“Lawrence of Arabia” was one of the last films to actually be photographed in 70mm (as opposed to being blown up to 70 from a 35mm negative). There was a hunger within filmmakers like Lean (and Kubrick, Coppola, Tarkovsky, Kurosawa and Stone) to break through the boundaries, to dare a big idea and have the effrontery to impose it on timid studio executives. The word “epic” in recent years has become synonymous with “big budget B picture.” What you realize watching “Lawrence of Arabia” is that the word “epic” refers not to the cost or the elaborate production, but to the size of the ideas and vision. Werner Herzog's “ Aguirre, the Wrath of God ” didn't cost as much as the catering in “Pearl Harbor,” but it is an epic, and “Pearl Harbor” is not. As for “Lawrence,” after its glorious re-release in 70mm in 1989, it has returned again to video, where it crouches inside its box like a tall man in a low room.

You can view it on video and get an idea of its story and a hint of its majesty, but to get thefeelingof Lean's masterpiece you need to somehow, somewhere, see it in 70mm on a big screen. This experience is on the short list of things that must be done during the lifetime of every lover of film. Based on Ebert's 1989 review of the restored “Lawrence,” here lengthened and revised. Advertisement

Question: Who played Prince Feisal in the epic film 'Lawrence of Arabia'
Answer: Alec Guinness